Summer Bust, Concert Bust
Class for me starts again tomorrow. Oddly enough, summer for me has now officially ended a few days after summer has officially started.
Most of us made it to the Fiery Furnaces concert on Friday. I, not being aware of how things work, thought it would start at 8:00 when actually that was just when the doors opened. The furnaces started playing sometime after 11:00. Yes. We Are Scientists (occasionally known as The We Are Scientists) were slightly above okay and about as I expected, but the night for me was still geared toward the Fiery Furnaces. The curtain rose, they began to play, and my emotions suddenly turned from anticipation to disappointment verging on anger. Somehow the off-beat, slightly crazy avant-garde rock group from the CDs turned into just another loud, bland, incoherent, verging on heavy metal rock band. A drummer and electric guitarist were added for the tour, and not only did nothing they played sound like what was on their CDs (which to some degree or another is to be expected, and what makes a live show interesting), but they didn't even remotely sound like the same group. Not only did the sound guy turn up the "suck" dial on the sound board, but he also must have pressed the "mutilate" and "destroy" buttons. The greatest and most distinctive attributes in their music are the strange travelogue or list-like lyrics, and intricate and unexpected musical choices. Both of these elements were gone, replaced by incoherently screamed words and bland, confused hard rock noise interspersed with drum fills. Usually it's a thrill to hear songs you know and love at a live show. Last night recognizing a couple words from a favorite song out of the jumbled mass only made me cringe harder. If I can find where to send it to, I think I might actually write them a letter.
Most of us made it to the Fiery Furnaces concert on Friday. I, not being aware of how things work, thought it would start at 8:00 when actually that was just when the doors opened. The furnaces started playing sometime after 11:00. Yes. We Are Scientists (occasionally known as The We Are Scientists) were slightly above okay and about as I expected, but the night for me was still geared toward the Fiery Furnaces. The curtain rose, they began to play, and my emotions suddenly turned from anticipation to disappointment verging on anger. Somehow the off-beat, slightly crazy avant-garde rock group from the CDs turned into just another loud, bland, incoherent, verging on heavy metal rock band. A drummer and electric guitarist were added for the tour, and not only did nothing they played sound like what was on their CDs (which to some degree or another is to be expected, and what makes a live show interesting), but they didn't even remotely sound like the same group. Not only did the sound guy turn up the "suck" dial on the sound board, but he also must have pressed the "mutilate" and "destroy" buttons. The greatest and most distinctive attributes in their music are the strange travelogue or list-like lyrics, and intricate and unexpected musical choices. Both of these elements were gone, replaced by incoherently screamed words and bland, confused hard rock noise interspersed with drum fills. Usually it's a thrill to hear songs you know and love at a live show. Last night recognizing a couple words from a favorite song out of the jumbled mass only made me cringe harder. If I can find where to send it to, I think I might actually write them a letter.